Bazillion Book Drive Recruiting Agencies

Here is some information to help your District Bazillion Book Drive Team begin to identify agencies and organizations in your area which should apply to receive new books.

Ministries with Which Local Churches Already Partner

Encourage churches to think about the ministries they offer, agencies they support financially and organizations where their church members volunteer. Identify any of these who are working with under-resourced children 3rd grade and younger.

Backpack or Brown Bag Programs

Many churches offer a backpack/ brown bag ministry to provide weekend meals to school children facing food insecurity. How great would it be if their weekend backpack occasionally included a book to read and keep as their own?

Afterschool Programs

Many churches and nonprofits offer afterschool programs to provide tutoring, recreation and a safe environment for children. If there is an afterschool program in your community that primarily serves children living below the poverty line, encourage them to apply to receive books for their participants 3rd grade and younger.

Nonprofit Agencies

Think of nonprofits in your area that serve under-resourced children, especially those whose focus is childhood literacy such as:

Better Basics

Literacy Council

STAIR (Start the Adventure in Reading)

Boys and Girls Clubs

Schools and Daycare Centers

Check with schools in under-resourced areas in your District to see if you can help better stock their library. The school librarian may have a wish list your District could help fill. Individual teachers may have reading initiatives for which your District could the supply books for that classroom or as gifts to the children. Daycare centers may appreciate new books that can be read to babies and toddlers at storytime, or may be willing to start a summer book club for older children.

Summer Reading Programs

Many libraries and other organizations have summer reading programs. Check with librarians and educational professionals who may know of these programs. You could also help summer programs offered by organizations such as the YMCA start a book club.

Local Libraries

In many under-resourced areas, children’s book selection at public libraries is limited. Check with libraries in these areas to see if they have a wish list for the children’s section.

Here are some samples your District Team and local churches can use to make contact with agencies in your community who would be appropriate recipients of new books.

Letter or Email:

Dear {Agency Contact Person},

United Methodist Churches in North Alabama are participating in an exciting project that will be of great interest to your organization and the children you serve. We are calling it a Bazillion Book Drive.

Churches throughout the northern half of the state will be collecting new books for children 3rd grade and younger. Our aim is to give the new books to agencies; nonprofits and other groups that work with children in under-resourced communities or who are living under the poverty line.

We have developed this project because statistics tell us that children who are not reading at grade level by the 3rd grade have little chance of graduating from high school, and that 80% of children in under-resourced communities are not reading at grade level.

Your organization has been identified as one to help us get these new books into the right hands to fulfill our goal of making a difference in the lives of children. You are invited to request new books by completing an online application at www.bazillionbookdrive.com.

I hope your organization will complete an application. You are also invited to share this link with other agencies or organizations whose work aligns with this project. We believe that every child deserves a new book!

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Thank you,
{Name}

Newsletters and Social Media:

Do you know an organization or ministry that works with children 3rd grade and younger who live in under-resourced communities or who are living below the poverty line? Encourage that organization to apply to receive new books from the Bazillion Book Drive—a project of the United Methodist Church in North Alabama. More information and an online application can be found at www.bazillionbookdrive.com.

Phone Script:

Hello, My Name is {Name}. I am part of the United Methodist Church. I’m calling to let you know about the Bazillion Book Drive. United Methodist Churches in North Alabama are collecting new books for children 3rd grade and younger in under-resourced areas. Your agency has been identified as one that serves children that fit this criteria. Is that correct?

Great! We’d like to invite you to use our online request form. Do you have a pen ready? Here’s the web address: www-dot-Bazillion-Book-Drive-dot-com. Do you need me to repeat that?

I hope your organization will complete the application. Also, if you know of other eligible agencies and organizations please encourage them to apply. I appreciate your help in getting the word out.

We believe that every child deserves a new book, and we’re going to do our best to make that happen in North Alabama! Thanks for taking the time to talk to me.

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